Lincoln Financial Retirement Unit Earnings Rise 26% in Q1

Retirement Plan Services at Lincoln Financial delivered “strong earnings growth,” according to comments from Thursday from Ellen Cooper, Chairman, President and CEO of Lincoln Financial during its first quarter 2026 earnings conference call.

While overall the company reported that sustained progress against strategic and financial objectives drove solid first quarter performance, Cooper singled out Group Protection for delivering record first quarter earnings, while Life Insurance and Retirement Plan Services each generated strong earnings growth. In Annuities, Cooper said Lincoln achieved another quarter of diversification in new business with a more balanced mix and less market sensitivity.

“We are modernizing the technology that underpins this business. While this realignment will take time, we are encouraged by the early progress.”
Lincoln Financial’s Ellen Cooper

“The cumulative impact of the actions we’ve taken—strengthening our capital foundation, optimizing our operating model, and diversifying our business mix—are translating into a more resilient, higher-quality earnings profile,” Cooper said. “We remain focused on advancing these priorities to further build on this trajectory and create sustainable, long-term value for shareholders.”

Retirement Plan Services reported operating income of $43 million in the quarter, up 26% year over year, which the earnings release said was driven by spread expansion and favorable equity markets, partially offset by trailing-12-month outflows. Net outflows were $0.2 billion, compared to $2.2 billion in the prior-year quarter. Total deposits were $4.1 billion in the quarter, up 1% over the prior-year quarter, with first-year sales of $1.1 billion, up 3% year over year.

Base spreads were 116 basis points, up 13 basis points from 103 basis points in the prior year quarter. Average account balances grew approximately 10% year-over-year to $125 billion, supported by equity market performance over the past 12 months.

Cooper noted during the call that the realignment of the Retirement Plan Services business is in its early stages. “Importantly, we are applying a playbook we have run successfully in other parts of our business, which gives us confidence in our ability to execute here,” she said.

Three priorities anchor the approach, Cooper added. The first is disciplined growth, enhancing Lincoln’s product and service capabilities while broadening the opportunity to increase revenue. The second is service excellence, modernizing operations, expanding offerings of digitally enabled tools and capabilities for participants, and recalibrating how Lincoln meets the needs of plan sponsors. The third is enhancing offerings, refreshing its value proposition by segment, updating its distribution model, and using analytics to deepen engagement with its existing customer base.

“Across all three priorities, we are modernizing the technology that underpins this business,” Cooper said. “While this realignment will take time, we are encouraged by the early progress. We will steadily advance these priorities to improve the earnings trajectory of this business in the years ahead.”

Lincoln Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer Christopher Neczypor added that the company is continuing to be deliberate about the business it retains, focusing on the segments and customers that meet its targeted return thresholds, even when that means accepting elevated outflows in a given quarter.

“The combination of disciplined pricing on retained business, the meaningful spread expansion delivered this quarter, and the operating leverage from a higher quality business mix, is what positions Retirement Plan Services to deliver durable earnings growth over time,” Neczypor said. “The first quarter result represents an early but tangible proof point that the actions we’ve been taking in this business are beginning to translate into improved earnings, and we expect to sustain a similar level of year-over-year growth as we look towards the second quarter.”

As of December 31, 2025, Radnor, Pa.-based Lincoln Financial had approximately 17 million customers across four core businesses—annuities, life insurance, group protection, and retirement plan services. As of March 31, 2026, the company had $340 billion in end-of-period account balances, net of reinsurance.

Brian Anderson

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Veteran financial services industry journalist Brian Anderson joined 401(k) Specialist as Managing Editor in January 2019. He has led editorial content for a variety of well-known properties including Insurance Forums, Life Insurance Selling, National Underwriter Life & Health, and Senior Market Advisor. He has always maintained a focus on providing readers with timely, useful information intended to help them build their business.